Mark Hawthorne, Effective Animal Activism, and Florence Libert, World Weeks for the Abolition of Meat

We start this episode with Carissa giving a review of the film Forks Over Knives, which officially opens in theatres in Vancouver on May 20th. Forks Over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the so-called “diseases of affluence” that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods. The major storyline in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering yet under-appreciated researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. We then announce the winners of our 15 double passes to preview the film at the May 17th advanced screening in Vancouver! The winners are: Patsy Leibik, Melissa Balfour, Jenny Lee, Marnie Gharrett, Lisah Gert D’Angelo, Kate Montgomery, Marina Dawson, Hayley Enns, Sanjay Kapil, Gazala Buksh, Bernard Poon, Sara McEwen, Tara Gardner, Simranjeet Kaur, and Kate Mitchell. Congratulations!

Florence Libert, World Weeks for the Abolition of Meat

Today’s first interview is with Florence Libert, who hails from Paris, France. She is an animal activist in Paris who organizes an initiative called the World Weeks for the Abolition of Meat and works to promote the demand for the abolition of the production and consumption of animal flesh throughout the world.

The World Weeks for the Abolition of Meat (WWAMs), held yearly since 2009 in January, May and September, are intended as a means of promoting a political debate around the idea of abolishing the production and consumption of the flesh of sentient beings. Worldwide, six million sentient beings are killed for food every hour. The number of water animals killed is even greater. Meat consumption causes more suffering and deaths than any other human activity although it is completely unnecessary.

The next World Week for the Abolition of Meat will be from May 21-28.

Mark Hawthorne, author of “Striking at the Roots”, on Effective Animal Activism and the Treatment of Farm and Slaughterhouse Workers

Today’s feature interview is with long-time animal advocate and writer Mark Hawthorne, who will be making a book signing appearance here in Vancouver on May 21st for his book “Striking At the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism”. Mark Hawthorne has engaged in nearly every model of activism, from leafleting and tabling to protesting and animal rescue. He also works and volunteers with several nonprofit organizations, including the Animal Legal Defense Fund; the Food Empowerment Project, which works at the intersection of veganism, environmental racism, the abuse of farm workers, and other social-justice issues; and SaveABunny, which works with animal shelters in the San Francisco Bay Area to find permanent homes for rabbits.

Mark speaks with us today about his book and effective animal activism, as well as the treatment of farm and slaughterhouse workers as reported in his recent April 2011 VegNews Magazine article entitled “Injustice for All”.

We are giving away one copy of this book to a lucky listener! All you have to do to enter the draw is make a post on our Facebook page “Animal Voices Vancouver“, telling us what one of your favourite methods of animal activism is, and your name will be one of contenders. Alternatively, you may also email your entry to: radioanimalvoices@gmail.com To be eligible to win, you must not have won anything from us in the past year. And anyone in North America can enter as we will be mailing the book to you. The deadline for entries is Friday, May 20th at 9am PST and we will be drawing the winner live on the show next week on May 20th at noon. Good luck!

Here is a video of Mark speaking on animal activism at a past LetLive Animal Rights Conference in Portland, Oregon: